2/22/13 3:48 PM EST

ABC News is in the final stages of job negotiations with New York Times reporters Jeff Zeleny and Susan Saulny, and is expected to make a formal announcement early next week, sources familiar with the negotiations tell POLITICO.

Zeleny, the Times' national political correspondent, is expected to be based in Washington, D.C., and cover politics for ABC News, though sources could not confirm the specific details of his beat. Saulny, a national reporter for the Times, is expected to cover national news.

ABC News declined to comment on the talks; both Zeleny and Saulny did not respond to requests for comment.

The decision to court Times reporters suggests ABC News is eager to add more experienced, breaking news reporters to its political bench, especially after the departure of correspondents Jake Tapper and Chris Cuomo and producer Virginia Moseley, all of whom left for CNN. Zeleny and Saulny would both bring strong reputations -- and strong Rolodexes -- to the network, sources said.

It is true that both Jeff and Susan, who are fantastic political journalists, are being wooed by ABC. Jeff is a cornerstone of our political coverage and, as his main fan (I regularly send him mash notes after seeing him on TV), I’m well aware that he’s terrific on television. The second I asked Susan to focus on video during the 2012 campaign, I knew TV executives would come swooping down on her. She’s a tremendously gifted reporter and writer who, perhaps unfortunately for me, lights up any screen. I hope both of them will decide to stay at the Times and be part of our burgeoning digital video journalism. I am grateful to both of them for making our political coverage the envy of our profession, which is confirmed by ABC’s interest in them.